Falling: To Fall Down
by Sam Worth
Summary: Charlie almost tumbled down a mountain. Liz was there to help with the aftermath. First part of a ten part series of unrelated one shots about falling and finding comfort. Written for the 2018 comfort fest.


_Written for the 2018 comfort_fest. Unbetaed._

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 **Falling: To Fall Down**

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Liz held out her hand as Charlie stumbled near the cliff edge. "Careful. I don't want to scrape you up from down there." She pointed to the deep valley below.

"I am careful." Charlie shook off her hand and wrote another calculation in his notebook. "I'm a seasoned hiker." He looked up from his work and glanced to her. "I know how to walk in the wilderness."

"Just make sure that your brother doesn't kill me," Liz admonished while she scanned the trees behind them. The man they were looking for was long gone, but Don had wanted to play it safe, while Charlie tried to find the pattern in his movement.

"Don't worry. Don would kill me first, if I fell -" Suddenly a strong wind gust hit Charlie. Taking a step backward, he flailed his arms, trying to keep his balance. Threatened to be toppled over the edge and down the slope, Charlie threw himself forward to reduce the contact surface and therefore lessen the impact of the wind. He fell to his knees, keeping his elbows bent to land on his forearms to avoid breaking his wrists.

"Charlie!" Liz shouted over the wind, while she had to fight for her own balance. "Charlie! Are you okay?"

"Fine. Fine." Shakily, he drew in a deep breath and raised his head. Moving his hair out of his face with a shaking hand, he realized just how near to the chasm he was. He breathed out. "Just got the wind knocked out of me. I'm fine."

Liz helped him up and pulled him away from the edge. "Are you sure?"

He patted himself down. No blood, no pain, only his knees were hurting a little from the hard landing. "Yes," he reassured Liz with a tentative smile. "Part of learning how to hike safely, is learning how to fall the right way to avoid extensive injuries. It may look stupid but it helps."

"You scared the heck out of me!"

"Sorry." He stooped down to grab his lost pen and notebook. His jeans were dirty and he tried to clean them with his hands. Angling his head up to look at Liz he asked: "You don't have to tell Don, do you?"

"If you're fine, no. I don't need to report every misstep somebody makes." She crossed her arms and indicated with her chin to his work. "But one leg of your jeans is ripped open at the knee. It may be obvious."

Charlie looked down at the tattered fabric below his knee.

"Let me check if your really fine." Liz knelt down and peeked at the damage. "The skin looks clear, just dirty."

"I told you, I know how to fall down without injuring myself. And now?" He waited for her to stand up again and studied her, hoping that she would have an idea.

But Liz only sighed. "There's nothing we can do about the ripped jeans here. So you finish your calculation, I'll call it in and then we hope that everybody is already gone by the time we get back to the car."

Charlie groaned, but Liz was right – there was no better option.

* * *

"Are they gone?" Charlie peeked from behind Liz' back to the parking lot.

Grimacing, Liz turned to Charlie. "You won't like it, but no."

"We should wait here and hide until they're gone," he proposed even if it sounded a little irrational.

"Charlie, why would we hide? You got your numbers, you braved against dangerous winds and knew how to avoid injuring yourself. There's no need to hide." She tapped his chin with her index finger. "Raise your head, shoulders back and follow me to my car. We get in and drive away."

Charlie blinked, opening his mouth to protest, but Liz raised her eyebrows in her threatening 'I'm an FBI agent, you do as I say' way and his resolve crumbled. Smiling, Liz pivoted and strolled to her sedan. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and also marched to their car.

Colby leaned against the only other car in the parking lot with his back towards the passenger side of Liz' car. "Hi guys!" He raised his hand in greeting. "Don's already back in the office, matching your coordinates with some sightings of our guy."

"Mm, that's great. I-" Charlie stammered.

"We need to run, Colby. Catch you in the office," Liz interrupted Charlie's stumbling attempts at a normal conversation. He used the cover to go over to the passenger side.

Confused, Colby nodded. "Sure. We're keeping watch." He shrugged and returned his focus to the surrounding trees. "In case he returns," he grumbled.

"In case he returns?" Liz paused with a frown on her face.

Colby chuckled. "It's either this, or Don has forgotten about us."

Finally, being able to pinpoint what or better who was missing, Charlie realized at the same time as Liz what had soured Colby's mood.

She rolled her eyes and opened her door while Charlie had already got in. "Tell David, he needs to find his way back before darkness or you're gonna have to call in the rescue teams."

"No need. He's just around the corner," Colby drawled. Under his breath he added, "our city boy just needs to figure out what corner."

Closing the door behind him, Charlie finally relaxed. Beside him Liz also closed her door and started the car. "See? If you're lucky, Don isn't even going to ask as he is too busy sighing about Colby and David to notice you."

"I'd still rather not have him knowing about my near fall. Can you drive me home, so I can change?"

She glanced at her watch. "Is Alan home? Because then I'm not so sure if this is a good idea." She threw him a meaningful look. "He is going to tell Don. Besides, a detour will take long enough that Don is going to notice. If he asks, I won't lie."

Charlie leaned back and pressed his head against the headrest. He grimaced. "The only other option would be CalSci," he said going through his options. "I have a change of clothes in my office, but the campus is probably worse."

"Then the FBI office looks like the safest option if you want to evade your father and your students. Don has a change of clothes in his locker that you can borrow."

"But then he is going to ask questions," Charlie said resignedly. It was inevitable, he would never be able to hide this - either his father or his brother would notice.

"You do realize that Don just worries?" Liz asked as if she was reading his thoughts.

"I know, but it's not easy to be his little brother."

Liz grinned. "Then we have something in common: it's not easy to be the ex-girlfriend. Or girlfriend for that matter. He always wanted to protect me as he wants to protect every member of his team." Stopping at a red light, she looked to him with raised eyebrows. "That includes you."

Charlie pressed his lips together. He would prefer to be allowed to choose what protection he wanted or rather not wanted. The light changed. "It's green," he said and Liz returned her focus to driving.

They drove in comfortable silence. "I know that he wants to protect me," Charlie said finally as they neared the city, "but sometimes I don't know who forgets first that I'm a grown man - my father or Don. I don't need their worried protection for all and everything."

Liz laughed out loud. "I hear you. But you know what – it's not only Don. My brother still thinks I would be better off as a marine biologist." She shook her head. "It's his understanding of a safe job."

The car carried them nearer and nearer to the FBI office and Charlie braced himself for an interrogation from his worried brother.

Tapping on the wheel, Liz pursed her lips before she glanced to Charlie out of the corner of her eyes. "But for you - I have an idea."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Charlie asked after they had stopped in a nearly empty parking lot.

Liz opened the trunk and pulled out her backpack. "This is my private solution for a common problem." She rummaged in the bag until she pulled out a small case full of patches. "Please put one of your feet up and hold still."

Bewildered Charlie did as asked and put his foot on the fender. Liz grabbed a bottle of water and poured some water on Charlie's knee. "You know that there are different firing positions?"

"Yes. Depending on target, weapon and shooter."

"And what do you need to keep in mind while shooting or preparing to shoot a powerful weapon."

"The recoil or blow-back," Charlie answered. "It can throw you off balance and makes it difficult to hit the right target."

"And what can you do to prevent this?" Liz prompted while she selected one patch that matched the color of Charlie's jeans.

"Lowering your center of gravity. Or get down on one knee." It was basic physics.

"Exactly. Depending on the ground it's bound to leave some marks on my pants - sometimes even ripping them open. That's one of the reasons you take protective gear whenever you can get it."

"And so you have patches to fix your pants in your car?"

"After a firefight involving such powerful guns that the fabric was torn, yes."

As understanding dawn on him, Charlie tilted his head looking up to the clear sky. It was more a band-aid on invisible wounds that calmed nerves and helped to find your focus again than an aesthetic fix. He gave her a small nod. "I get it."

"So," she moistened her lips, "the label says to wet the fabric, put the patch on it and then iron it. But you know what? This brand of patches even holds without ironing. It's just doesn't survive the washing machine. But it should hold until you're home." She smiled and pointed to his other leg.

"Thanks," Charlie said and put up his other leg. Looking down he realized that it looked like a badge - in a good way.

"You're welcome." Liz finished the second knee just as fast.

"And you carry these patches always with you?" Charlie asked.

"Not always, but disaster recovery is just as important as preventing disaster. Some things can't be prevented, so you need a plan for recovery." Wisdom beyond her years flickered across her face and then it was gone and it was just Agent Warner again.

"Then this," he pointed to the patches, "is a good recovery plan."

Liz just offered him a grin and put away her patches. Now they were good to go. Charlie took a deep breath - if Don or his father would see it and ask, he wouldn't hesitate to answer anymore. The patches on his knees were badges of honor not weakness.

He looked over to Liz and they shared a bright smile.

 **END**

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 _Thank you for reading!_


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